Portable power-driven tree felling circular saw



Febu l5, 19495., J. R. CRAWFORD PORTABLE POWER-DRIVEN TREE FELLING CIRCULAR SAWS Filed NOVv 15; 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet l.

Feb. 15, 1949.

J. R. CRAWFORD PORTABLE POWER-DRIVEN TREE FELLING CIRCULAR SARS 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 15, i944 Feb. l5, T1949. J.R.CRAWFORD 2,461,589

PRTABLE POWER-DRIVEN TREE FELLING CIRCULAR SAWS Filed Nov. 15, 1944 l' sheets-sheet s a@ @W/bww Feb. l5, i949. .1.' R. CRAWFORD I PORTABLE POWER-DRIVEN TRE FELLING CIRCULAR SAWS Filed NOV. 13, 1944 4 l Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Feb. 15, 1949 PORT-ABLE POWER-DRIVEN TREE FELLING.

' CIRCULAR SAW J ames'E. Crawford, Clinton, S. C.

ApplicationNovember 1 3, 1944, Serial No. 563,238"

t 4 Claims. (Cl. 1213-7-43.)

My invention relates to portablepower driven saws.

An important object of the invention is to provide a saw of `the above mentioned character adaptedV for use in cutting standing trees.

Afurther object ofthe invention is to provide means toexert a pushing force upon the tree, in a direction from the saw, during the cutting action whereby the tree will fall clear of the saw.

A further object of the invention is to provide pushing mechanism for use in connection with the saw, the pushing mechanism being rigid to bend the tree whenthe tree is sufliciently small or-exiblaorbeing yieldable to permit of the saw partly cuttingthe tree and subsequently becoming rigid to bend the partly cut tree;v

A further object of; the invention is to provide apparatus of the above mentioned character which is designed to be made in the nature of an attachment to be installed upon a tractor.

A further object of the invention is to provide apparatus of the above mentioned character, embodying a rotatable saw arranged near the front end of the tractor so that the operator of the tractorv may conveniently mo-ve the saw into engagement with the standing tree.

A further object of the invention is to provide means for driving the rotary saw directly from-Y the flywheel or crank shaft 'of the engine of the tractor so that the saw is driven at a constant speed, regardless of the shifting of gears in the starting or stopping of the tractor.

A-'further object or the invention is to mount the pusher devicevupon the hydraulic lift of the tractor, whereby thepusher device may yield while the saw is cutting a part ofthe-upstanding tree, when desired.

Other objects and advantages` of the invention will be apparent during the course of the following description.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this applicationand in which like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the same,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of apparatus embodying my invention, showing the same applied to a-John Deere tractor,

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the supporting'frame attached to the chassis of the tractor,

Figure 3l is a transverse vertical section taken` onziline`3-3Sof Figure 2,

Figure 4 is a similar view" taken on line 4-4 of Figure 2,

` Figure 5Y is a perspective viewA of the pusher ele-' ment and associated elements,

Figure 6 is a horizontal section taken on line 6-6 of Figure 1,

Figure 7 is avertical section on line 'I1ofl Figure 1,

Figure 8 is a plan View of a modified formk ofA saw carrying boom,

Flgure 9 is an endelevationv of ICI- I 0 of Figure 8.

In the drawings, wherein for the purpose of illustration is shown a preferred embodiment ofmy invention, the numeral l'designates a tractor ,as a whole such as a John Deere tractor. This. tractor includes a chassis havingl horizontal sidel rails I I. At the front of the chassis arev the usual, steering wheels I2. The crank case is connectedwith the rear end of the chassis Il) and thel rearu axle housing I3 is connected with thisY crank case..

The numeral I4 designates traction Wheels. The,

engine I5 is suitably mounted upon thef chassis` Il and includes an exterior flywheel. I6, directly mounted upon the crank shaftwhich extends.

transversely of the chassis. The tractor is alsov and lower integral tractor equipmentk such as cultivators, plows, plantersor the like. In connection with the present invention I use only-one of thesek arms I9 which I have shown mounted upon one end' of the shaft Iy and this armA isv arranged upon the shaft to be generally vertical l and extend above the shaft when the arm is in the forward position.' This 'arm is associated'wth' the pusher device, as will'be more fullydescribed.

The hydraulic lift is` shown in Patents 2,917,848 and'2,34'2,306.

- A supportingframe is arranged upon one side of the rail I I and is attached thereto. This frame includes agenerallyl V-shaped'bracket 20, comprising an inner vertical side 2| and an outer diagonal side 22. These sides may be formed of, a channel iron andan angle iron. The vertical side 2| is rigidly. secured to the rail I"I' bybo1ts:`

or the like.

The numeral 23 designates'a horizontal tubulark innerl end of'which' is arranged within' and is connected'.

pivot, the the vertical channelv arm 2'I therewith by abolt 24. rJlhe'opposite-end ofthe tubular pivot 23`has a` bolt- 25 extending into-the' same and welded therein. See Fig. 3. The bolt` 25 extends throughv an openingin the diagonal angle arm 221 and' projects tothe outer side` ofl the same;V Vand Figure 10 is a transverse sectiontaken on line thereto by a bolt 30. A bolt 3| extends intothe lo opposite end of the tubular pivot 29 and is Welded?.V therein and extends through an opening formed in the anglearm 28 and extends'beyond this'angle` arm. See Fig. 4. A companion transverse diag-- onal arm 32, which may be an angle ironfisr'igidlys 15 secured to the lower end of the arm 2`l'ad ex"- tached thereto. The channel arm 27 isgrgidly. mounted upon the rail I i, forwardly of the' ar'm" inand is secured theret bya bolt. Anlongitu; dinal diagonal am-3, preferably' in the hform ofqanangle iron, is rigidly secured at itslowerend tothe 21 andfla's its upper'en'd attached` to, the rail U. fIljie bracket 26 is therefore securely braced"gaiiisttransverseand longitudinal `dis` 25 placement with respect to the chassis IDA hrizont'al Barf'34u; p'referaloly` in the form of an angle irg a"apert`red` knuckle 35 at its lfprward end to receive the bolt 3| and is -heldthereon by a iifutS'GL'fLTh'opposite'end of the bar de, 4has aA- .m

grooved roller 51 is mounted between the forward ends of the horizontal bars 52 and suitably connected therewith and is disposed to engage beneath the boom 43. It is thus seen that when the device 58 is swung upwardly upon its pivot 29 that the roller 51 will engage beneath the boom and raise the same. The means to swing the devicelv comprises a link or bar 58, pivoted to ni outsidefyertieai bar r53, at 59. This link extends rearwardly and is pivoted at 60 to the lower end of a lever 6l, pivoted at t2 upon a plate 63, i'r'i'turn secured to a flat upon the axle housing. A stationary toothed quadrant 6d is rigidly secured Atc'ithis stationary plate and is engaged by a latch, :carried bythelever. When the upper end of the lever is moved forwardly, its lower end is moved vrearwardlyand the device 5G is turned to raise theboom. A belt guide 66 is mounted upon the bonne'ar' the vertical pulley 4l and embodies upper and lowerrollers 67 and 68. A retractile coilspr'ingigs Aconnected with the outer upright 53 and `with the rear axle housing by means of suitableattachrrient and also tends to swing the device 5U for raising the boom.

IV providev a pusher device for coaction with the saw." -'Ihis`"pusher device includes` a horizontal guide rail 10, rigidly attached to the steering pedestal'lland a'diagonal brace l2 is connected With the guide rail l0. The pusher device comprisesa .transverse horizontal pusher head '13, preferably in i the form of a stiff metal plate.

companion apertu'red 'y knuckle 3l," re'cei`vng` 'the n 4. The'iuiner'al 38 designates alhofrizonta'l barfgiiayingf'aiertured Kwickies as andjse and the` forwardapertured knuckle 39 receivespth'e" bolt"25.l Knuckles 3T and 3 95areliel'd 'uponthe y This pusher. head may be a T-iron and is rigidly secured totheI forward end 'of a pipe or rod le by 'boltsfly (Fig. l) or the like. Diagonal bars 16 also preferably connect these parts. The pipe bo1t`"by"afnut '40. The'rear apertured knuckle asfrmayfbebent atja right anglejto the bar as andiis secured lto an attachingfplate 4i, which in turnis secured to a iiat upon the axle housing.

abl'e salwcai'ryingfsupport, including a boom'43, which is preferablyftubular.- At its rear'end this boom' hasY a? transversefsleeve 'or tubular head '44' rigidlysecured thereto and this 'sleeveiis pivotally -i 5 mounted-:upon the' tubular pivot 23; The boom 43 is disposed"outwardly'ofand nearxthe rail l l .and extends :longitudinally of thesameand the' forward end of the boom extends beyond the Vforward end: of the tractor. rigidly'attached to'the'fo'rward end'of the boom 43* and -a diagonal brace' 45 galso `connectstheseA partsr' A rotary mandrel or spindle li5 is mountedy Within-the sleeve 44 and 'is held in` place by suit:

able bearings A rotary'saw 46 is rigidly mounted 55 upon' the lowerend of the mandrel 'and 'avertical pulley Ufisattachedto the'upper end ofthe'mane:Y drei," to ldrive thei samer:Y Ai belt..` 48 engages th-e7 vertical pulley 41 and also engages a horizontal larpivot-29. This sleeve 5I hasrhorizontarbars 66 52; rigidly secured thereto' by Welding or the like.; and vertical bars 53, secured to the same byvvelding or the "like. #Diagonal topibars" 54 connect the bars- 52"and53and diagonalbottom bars Eiconnectthe bars52 and the bottom of the sleeve 5 i. 70

A spacer 'loraclret'b is arranged adjacenttoone verticalbar 5 31and isiriedlv .attaeliedtbereto-l. The; :boom 43: is "arranged between 'the isi 1a =er AA bracket@ and the innenverialtlbarria d the 1;eby; ;held ;against lateral.: disulacement.` leere "A transverse sleeve 44 is 50 14 rests upon the guide rail 'lll and is slidably mounted within a U-shaped guide 1l', rigidly attached to the rail 10. At its rear yend, the pipe 14 is slidably'mounted ina sleeve '78, having rapertured knuckles i9 rigidly secured thereto andA The numeral 42' designates'a vertically adjust-A these knucklesfare. pivotally mounted upon the upper end ofthe arm I9, as shown at 8l). See Fig.

6. The arm 19 has a toothed quadrant 8l rigidly securedthereto and a lever v82 is pivoted upon this quadranuias shown at 83. Abovethe pivot 83, the

lever 82 has a rigidrod-orlink d pivotally convnectedytherewithand this rod passes through' an aperturedknuekle 85,`rigidly secured to the pipe '14; andis adjustably secured to the apertiu'ed knuckle by means of collars 86, clamped thereon by set screws.,

The operation of the machine is as follows:

Inv sawing smaller trees which may be bent by the force ofthe tractor, the tractor isV driven toward the treeuntil the saw 4d slightly .contacts with the tree. The arm I9 of the hydraulic lift is now in the forward raised position and is posi'fl/.Qlyheldin this position until the pedal 11 is depressed. .The pusher head 'i3 now engages the tree or if it does not engage the tree, the lever t2 is swung'vvforwardly to bring the pusher head 13;; inengagement with the tree. The lever 8 2 is now., locked in v.the forward adjusted position.

The tractor engine is ordinarily driven at about- 975, R.P. M. and A.this speed is usually main?r tained,onstantfregardless of the manipulation, of the transmission gearing. The saw 46 being directly driven by thecrank shaft of the engine is maintained at a constant speed. It is pre1 vferredcthat theconstant speed of the sawvbe 1000 R. P. M.s for a 40 inch saw but this speed willyarysomewhat depending upon the diameter of the saw. As the saw rotates in engagement if.

Withgtheiree the cutting occurs and the tractor :is advanced slowly toward the tree,' thus feeding,

th'esawr forwardly; Inthecaseofraf sman'ertre'e, thefpusher bar'13`- wouldbe'nd the treeA away from-'- ing the screw which controls the flow of the uidA` within the hydraulic lift, the f1uid= will produce a yielding resistance to the rearward movement of' the armf I9? when the pedalf1'1" is depressed. Tliis` will` enable the presser head' 13 yto exert a suitablel constant pressure upon=Y the tree during' the forward' movement of lthe tractor. By the time the arm I9 has reached theend of its A rearward travel, the saw will havev cut the tree sufiic'iently" whereby thev pusher bar can bend the tree' forwardly. By again depressing the pedal' 11' while-A the arm I9 is in the rear positiongsthis arm will vmove' forwardly, provided that the p'owe'r take-01T from thetransmissionisbeing @operated by the engine and' the arm I9 will then fonce the pipe 14` forwardly and the pusher head 13'r will complete the felling of the tree'v without the furthe'rcutting" action Vof the saw. j

In Figures 8 to- 10. inclusive' I` have shown' a modified form of saw carrying boom, whereby the saw can be :operated in horizontal and vertical positions. In. these gures the numeral 81 designates a tubular boom or arm, the rear end of which is rotatably mounted in `a sleeve 88, rigidly mounted upon a transverse sleeve 89, corresponding to the sleeve 44' and pivotally supported upon the frame. The sleeve 88 and boom 81 have openings 9|] spaced for 90 for receiving bolts 9|. The boom 81 may be turned to selected positions for 90 apart an-d then. locked in the selected adjusted position.- The same sleeve 44 is employed but is offset laterally with respect to the boom 81 and is equipped at its top wi-th a lateral coupling 9| rigidly secured to the boom 81. The diagonal brace 45 conne-cts the sleeve 44 and the boom 81. The rotary saw 46 is carried by the mandrel 45 in the sleeve y44 and 1- driven by the pulley 41, engaged by the belt 48.

The saw 46 is positioned suitably in advance of the wheels I2 so that it will not engage the same. The saw 45 may be horizontally arranged, Figure 9, and will then be driven as described in connection with the first form of the invention. The boom 81 is raised and lowered in the same manner as the boom 42. When it is desired to use the saw 46 in a vertical position the bolts SI are manipulated'and the sleeve 44 swung to the left, Figure 9, for 90, thereby bringing the sleeve 44 to the horizontal position and vertically arranging the saw 46. Due to the offset coupling BI the pulley 41 is in alignment with the pulley 49. After this adjustment the boom 81 is locked in the selected adjusted position by manipulation of the bolts 9I. All other parts of the apparatus remain identical with those shown and described in connection with the first form of the invention.

It is to be understood that the form of my invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as apreferred example yof the same and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without 6" departing from the spirit of' the invention cr-the scope of' the subjoined claims.

Hav-ing thus described my invention, y l. A tractor' including a hydraulic lift embodyn` ing aswinging arm to move longitudinally ofthe ractor, a support mounted upon the tractor, a

pusher device extending longitudinally of the' tractor and mounted upon the support and eX- tending forwardly beyond the tractor, a sleeve slifdably receiving the rear end of the pusher device and-pivotally connected withthe swinging arm, aA lever pivotally mounted lupon the swinging arm, a link connecting the lever and pusherl device, and means-to lock the lever in the selected adjusted position.

2. An attachment to be mountedyupon a tractor` having a chassis including a side rail and an engine having a transverse shaft and side pulley mounted upon the transverse shaft, said attach-` ment comprising forward andrrear bracketsiextending outwardly beyond the side rail, each bracket including anl inner vertical side member anda diagonal outer side member, means to attachea'c'hvertical side member to the rail,a horizontal pivot element for each bracket having its inner end secured to the vertical side member and"v its' outer end s'ecuredtotheidiagonal side member,l

a generally horizontal bar attached to the outer en'd's'ofV the horizontalpivotelements and having its rear' end connected with the'axle housingof the tractor, a sleeve pivot'ally mountedluponlthe' pivot element ofL the rear bracket, a boom extendL ing longitudinally of the side rail next to the pulley and projecting forwardly beyond the same and connected with the sleeve, a second sleeve pivotally mounted upon the pivot element of the forward bracket, a generally horizontal swingable arm remote from the-first sleeve and rigidly mounted upon the second sleeve, a roller carried by the arm and arranged beneath the boom to engage with the boom and raise it, a generally vertical mandrel mounted upon the forward end of the boom, a generally horizontal saw mounted upon the mandrel, 'a pulley mounted upon the mandrel, and a belt engaging the pulley of the mandrel and the pulley of the engine. y

3. An attachment to be mounted upon a tractor having a chassis including a side rail and an engine'having a transverse shaft and a side pulley mounted upon the transverse shaft, said attachrnent comprising forward and rear brackets upper end 'of each vertical side' member to the rail, a horizontal tubular pivot element for each bracket having its inner end secured to the vertical side member, a pin extending into the outer end of each tubular pivot element and secured therein and extending through the apertured knuckle of the diagonal side member, a forward generally horizontal bar provided at its ends with apertures to receive the pins, a rear generally horizontal bar provided at its forward end with an aperture to receive the rear pin and having its rear end connected with the axle housing of the tractor, a rear sleeve pivotally mounted upon the rear tubular pivot element, a boom extending longitudinally of the side rail next to the bracketsy I claiin:

mounted Iupon theiorward sleeve, a roller carried by said arm and arranged beneath the boom to engage with the boom and raise it, means to swing the arm, a generally vertical mandrel mounted upon the forward, end of the boom, a generally horizontal saw mounted upon the mandre1,j-a pulley secured to the mandrel, and a belt engaging the pulley of the mandrel and the pulley of the engine. l

4. A tractor including a. chassis, a steering pedestal near its forward end, an engine having a transverseshaft and a side pulley mounted upon the transverse shaft, a hydraulic lift near the rear end of the tractor, the hydraulic lift including an upstanding arm arranged near the side of the chassis next to the pulley and adapted to swing lwithin limits longitudinally-of the chassis andmeans for controlling the swinging movement ofthe upstanding arm, a generally horizontal support attached to the steering pedestal and projecting laterally beyond the side of the chassis next to the pulley, a pusher device extending longitudinally of the side ofthe chassis next to the pulley and carried by the support, manually adjustable means connecting therear end of the pusher device with the arm so that the pusher device may be moved longitudinally with relation to thearm and also move with the arm, a supporting structure arranged beneath the pusher device and attached to the chassis and extending laterally beyond the side of the chassis next to thepulley,a boom `pivotally mounted upon the REFERENCES CITED The following 'references 'are of record in the l"o'f this patent: i l

' UNITED sTATEsPA'I'ENTs Number Name Date 638,553 Burke Dec. 5, 1899` 827,548 Martin July 31, 1906 1,039,338 Wallace Sept. 24, 1912- 1,318,324 Keon Oct. 7, 1919 1,414,319 Zaiauskis f Apr. 25, 1922 1,602,357 Georgelis Oct. 5, 19261* 2,050,952 f Jaques` Aug. 11, 1936 2,216,971` Farmer: ..v Oct/:8, 1940. 2,274,962 AKnight Mar. 3,1942 2,350,880 Dellinger et al; June6., 1944 2,353,873 Brownlee July 18, 1944 2,354,625 Van Sickle July'25, 1944 FOREIGN 9.1511331'IS Ak n, Number Country VDate 27,542 Sweden 1 Oct; 16, 1909;. 113,879 Australia Sept. 16, 1941 JAMES R. CRAWFORD. 

